Protecting teens from risky behaviors - study finds parents play major role in protecting teenagers from harmful behavior - Brief Article

Strong and supportive ties between parents and children help protect adolescents against a variety of risky behaviors, including substance abuse, early sexual activity, pregnancy, emotional distress, suicide, and violence.

That is one of the major conclusions of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the largest and most comprehensive survey of teenagers ever conducted in the U.S. The Congressionally mandated study involved asking about 90,000 seventh through 12th-graders at 145 randomly selected middle and high schools to complete questionnaires about themselves, their health, and their beliefs. The project's second phase involved detailed, in-home interviews with 20,000 of the teenagers and their parents.

"These findings offer the parents of America a blueprint for what works in protecting their kids from harm," maintains J. Richard Udry a fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Carolina Population Center, Kenan Professor of Maternal and Child Health at the School of Public Health, and principal investigator for the study. "Contrary to common assumptions, [it] found that parents--not just peers--are extremely relevant to their children throughout adolescence." Parents trying to prevent risky behaviors in their offspring should spend time with teenagers, talk with them, be available to them, set high standards, and send clear messages about what they want their children to do and not do, he suggests.

Significant findings of the study include:

* Children whose parents keep tobacco, alcohol, or drugs at home are more likely to use those substances themselves. One-fourth of youngsters questioned smoked; one-sixth used alcohol more than once a month; and almost one-third had tried marijuana.

* Adolescents whose parents store guns at home are more likely to engage in violent behavior and consider or attempt suicide. About 3.5% of respondents had attempted suicide in the past year, one-quarter had access to guns, and one in eight had carried a weapon in the past month. One-quarter said they had been victims of violence.

* Feeling connected to school, teachers, and classmates was protective against every health risk behavior examined. In general, characteristics of school such as size, grade range, and teacher-student ratios appeared not to affect healthy or unhealthy behaviors.

* Sixteen percent of seventh- and eighth-graders and almost half of ninth-to 12th-graders said they had had sexual intercourse. Those who felt connected to family and school were more likely to delay intercourse and use contraception if they did begin sex before marriage.

* Repeating a grade or appearing older or younger than classmates caused adolescents to suffer more emotional distress such as depression. Those who appeared older were more subject to substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, violence, and early sexual activity.

* Nearly 85% of students reported having a religion, and such beliefs and prayer were protective against risky behaviors. Those who said religion and prayer were important were less likely to use unhealthy substances and have premarital sex.

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